When All is Said and Done
by Smile Life Away
Summary: Written for the Twisted Challenge. Theodore Nott thinks about the ending of the war and what it has led to. AU. Not DH Compliant


**A/N: Written for the "Twisted Challenge" take a scenario from the series and change the ending. I took the bonus challenge: What if Voldemort won? Please Read and Review**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

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_There was a sort of emptiness that took over the whole of Hogwarts. And a silence, as if a blanket of death had covered every being inside. _

_Theodore Nott had seen death do her work before, had seen her take away the beloved from families, but this was different. This time she was staring at him, daring him to try and cheat her out of another soul, taunting him, dancing before him, only to vanish, today, apparently, was not his end._

"_Vulnera Sanentur" _

_Hers was the voice that brought him back to reality. Not Madam Pompfrey but the hazy image of a girl he knew he had seen before. She was blond with green eyes and pale skin. Her black robes were tattered and burnt at the edges, and a weak smile had forced its way on her lips._

"_What…?" he did not finish._

"_Tergeo" she murmured, "you were injured…" she shared no more information with him, but instead her eyes shifted away. _

_Finally Nott's eyes began to focus; he was on the floor in the middle of the Great Hall. All of the house tables were gone, but more, like him, were lying on the ground and looking around in confusion. _

"_What happened?" he tried again, and the blond girl turned back to him. "Where is…?"_

"_If you want, you can get up." Once again her eyes began to drift._

"_What's your name?" he wondered if she would even bother to answer him that. _

"_Astoria, Greengrass." She answered absentmindedly._

"_What happened to Madam…" he watched her eyes fill with tears as she turned back to him, how old was this girl anyway? Was she even in Slytherin?_

"_She's dead," Astoria's voice cracked, and Nott sat up ignoring the pain finally recognizing her, Daphne's sister, the one who had helped out the infirmary. _

"_What happened…?" he asked again, but this time she turned to face him, her green eyes meeting his brown ones._

"_Harry Potter is dead…you-know-….he….V…VO…The Dark Lord won." _

Theodore Nott woke up groggily. It had been two years, and the dream, or rather the reality, was still as vivid as ever. He could remember how she had sobbed, and how the euphoria he had expected to feel had not come. Fifteen year old girls crying had not been part of the dream. In his mind, he could see the red eyes of the Dark Lord as he neared the two of them, Nott and Greengrass.

"_Crucio" _he had said the word with adoration, and Astoria had screamed, her screams had warranted the attention of every other person in the place.

When he had finally stopped the lesson was learned, no one was to lament Harry Potter.

Nott pressed his fingers to his temples and tried to forget. He tried to forget Malfoy who had cringed at her screams, as if it was causing him pain too. He tried to forget the way Draco had clutched onto Goyle. And most of all Theodore tried, in vain, to push away the Dark Lord's voice as he pointed his wand at Draco, who was a traitor in his eyes.

"_Avada Kedarva" _Malfoy did not scream, he never had the chance.

No, no more thoughts, let the past be the past. Theodore pushed himself off of the bed and groggily made his way towards the kitchen. Food was what he needed, and maybe some fire-whiskey, yes, fire-whiskey would be very nice.

He searched for food and finding only a loaf of old bread decided to lather it in butter, he would need to buy more food tomorrow.

As for the fire-whiskey there was plenty of that. Nott did not bother to pour it in a glass and instead took a long drink from the bottle, and put his mind on more important matters, such as the wedding he would be attending tomorrow and the gift he had yet to buy.

The union was that of Daphne Greengrass and Blaise Zabini, two pure-bloods whose parents had never taken the mark. The Dark Lord would surely show up there.

The last large scale gathering that Nott had attended was the funeral of Bellatrix Lestrange. Everyone who wished for favor had come, including the Greengrasses and Zabini families. Both families had money, and children who were Slytherins willing to serve, well most of them, Astoria was not a Slytherin, (but in fact a Ravenclaw), and at the time was still lamenting over the youngest Malfoy. (Apparently the two had been closer than original thought would have concluded). However, she caused no problems, and the Dark Lord did not care to spill pure- magical blood without cause.

The funeral had been glorious, everyone remembering the greatness of Bellatrix Lestrange, the most faithful, the most trusted.

Nott bit the bread and winced tasting the mold. He was nineteen years old, he should have been able to remember to shop by now.

Diagon Alley was one of those places that Theodore avoided. The vacant streets were a stark contrast to his homely flat, and besides that it was a gruesome reminder of the real world, the place where death, and her minions ran uncontrolled, finding victims to join them.

Hermione Granger, the mudblood, had gone soon after Harry Potter, though Nott did not see it. And then one- by- one the Weasleys were picked off, and the weeding began. 'Prune your family tree' that was the message the Death Eaters were to give, and one- by- one the mudbloods, squibs, and blood-traitors were disposed of as well as any half-breeds. Leaving only the fruit, pure-bloods and half-bloods, one magical parent that was what you needed.

Nott took another long drink which instead of bringing his mind back to the present caused him to slip further into his thoughts.

He had received the Mark a few months after the war. Pansy and he were some of the few, because they were the ones who had fought for the Dark Lord, unlike Goyle who had been with Draco, or Daphne and Blaise, who had simply evacuated.

There had been no ceremony, just a few new recruits standing in the Malfoy Manor (emptied of Malfoys), waiting to be branded for life, and they had been.

A gray owl flew through the window and dropped a copy of the Daily Prophet on the table. Nott picked it up without any real enthusiasm and flipped through the paper without finding anything unusual, except of course the last page.

**Daphne Greengrass and Blaise Zabini found dead in Home**

_**The engaged couple was found by Alessandra Zabini (mother of the deceased), in their residence at approximately five thirty this morning. **_

He did not have to read anymore, he did not care to know anymore.

There was a knock on the door and he placed down the paper to get up and answer it praying it was not Pansy, or worse Bulstrode.

"Hey Nott,"

It was just Astoria, and she was wearing a false smile as he led her in.

"Daffy's dead," There were no tears in her eyes, but her voice broke, "and so is Blaise."

"I know, I read it." He motioned to the table and she sat down at it picking up the Daily Prophet.

"I'm sorry," he added.

She simply shrugged, "I knew they were going to do it. She told me, she couldn't take it anymore…" Astoria brushed an invisible tear from her face but he knew the explosion was coming, and too soon her tears began to fall rapidly.

"It's not fair…!" she finally shouted, "It just isn't!" apparently she had forgotten that he was a Death Eater. "I mean Daffy and Blaise, and last month that Gryffindor who poisoned himself…and…"

"You shouldn't…" he began.

"Don't tell me what I shouldn't do Nott!" She threw down the paper and glared at him before her gaze fell and she collapsed against the chair. "What are you eating?" she pointed to his stale bread.

"Umm…nothing" he levitated it into the garbage but took another long drink of fire-whiskey "do you want some?" she shook her head.

"If I start drinking, I don't think I'll ever stop." She drummed her fingers on the cherry table.

"So…why'd you come?" he asked knowing that she was not just here to talk about her sister's death.

"Daffy's dead..And my parents are losing money…fast…the new laws are hurting their business…they had planned for Daphne to take the Dark Mark , but Daffy's…" she stopped, Astoria had always been emotional.

"So you're going to take it?" he finished for her.

The girl shrugged, "I just graduated, I don't want to end my life now."

"It's a whole new beginning…" his voice sounded false.

"I'm thinking about leaving…" her voice dropped to a whisper. "The Dark Lord's power hasn't extended into Germany or France yet, just here, just in Britain…"

"And you think you're not going to get caught?" she shrugged again and pushed a strand of blonde hair behind her ear.

"I was hoping…you could help me?" her eyes became earnest, and he dropped the bottle to the ground and pulled out his wand. "Wait…" she stood up and pulled out her own. "I know what you're thinking, it's not like that. I wanted this as much as everyone else." She was lying he knew that, "but I didn't expect to be terrified every time I walked down the street. I didn't know that…that things were going to end up like this…"

"I have to call him…" There was regret in Nott's voice, but he knew he would feel more regret if he did not turn her in. He was sure that the Dark Lord could cause him more pain than Astoria Greengrass.

"No wait…!" she was pleading with him now, she knew the consequences as well as anyone else. "Before you do that….Nott please…can't you see my point? No one expected this. Everyone is dead Theodore! Daphne, Blaise, Harry Potter, the Weasleys, Snape, Longbottom, Draco…" she stopped there, and the flood of tears began again.

Theodore Nott lowered his wand, defeated, why did girls always have to cry?

"You have to take the Dark Mark" he said slowly so that his words would sink in, "you have to take it, or I…or I have to turn you in as a blood-traitor."

"But I'm not!" she complained, "I'm not a blood-traitor, I swear…you have to believe me."

"You cried when Harry Potter died." And that ended the conversation.

Astoria Greengrass lowered her own wand and looked up him, their eyes meeting. He always hated when she did that, it made him aware of all his imperfections.

"I suppose I'll leave now," she murmured, "I have a feeling you won't be seeing me again." With a small smile she walked over to him and placed dry kiss on his cheek.

After the door closed behind her Theodore Nott sat back down and pulled out a second bottle of fire-whiskey, it would be better if he was drunk when the Dark Lord came.

The next morning there was a new heading in the Daily Prophet.

**Theodore Nott found dead in Flat**

_**Theodore Nott, a well known follower of the Dark Lord, was found dead in his flat last night at approximately eleven thirty pm. The cause of death has been determined accidental and linked with the amount of alcohol he consumed that day. The only known visitor to his residence that day was Astoria Greengrass the sister of recently deceased Daphne Greengrass. Neither the reporter nor the coroner was able to contact said Greengrass…**_

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